Second Place
by Ahtnamas
Summary: AU. Kagome is used to losing. She’s lost spelling bees, math contests, book fairs, and debates, but can she win in a little thing called love? InuKag, MirSan.
1. A Ten Minute Lecture About Tuna

**Second Place**

Chapter 1  
  
_I'm sorry if this sucks. I wrote it on a whim. Please please please review._

_By the way, I don't hate Kikyou that much because she was good when she was alive. Yeah, so, if Kikyou being mean offends you, it's just that I needed someone for Kagome to compete with and Kikyou was the logical choice.  
_

_And if you go to my school, you would know whom I mirrored the characters off of. Haha.  
_  
-

Kagome rolled her eyes as she stared down at the school newsletter. Kikyou, apparently, had won something again.

She shoved the piece of paper to Sango, who had thrown away her own copy, deeming it useless. Sango read the first paragraph quickly, then, raising an eyebrow, handed it back to Kagome.

"Did Kikyou win the speech contest again, or was that a week ago?" Sango asked.

Kagome frowned. "No, I think this time it's the spelling bee."

God. Kikyou was so perfect. She seemed to have no flaw whatsoever. But if there was, she sure didn't show it. She was popular, rich, perfect, and athletic.

Compared to her, well, compared to anyone, Kagome was no one. She was boring, terrible at sports, and wasn't that smart either.

_I'll never win anything_, she thought, shouldering her backpack. _Because all teachers have their favorites. And I'm not one of them._

_Well, to first period I go._

_And I go as a loser._

-

"And last of all, the food in the ocean includes the shrimp, shark, fish, seaweed, tuna, and—"

"Um, excuse me?" Mrs. Feathergrass interrupted, her voice like a normal person sucking up helium.

Kagome sighed, frustrated. The stupid teacher had only butted in about ten times in five minutes.

She glared at Mrs. Feathergrass, staring at the disgusting wart on her eye.

"What?" she snapped quietly to herself.

"Did you do any research?" Mrs. Feathergrass snapped.

"Yeah," Kagome muttered, defiantly. Of course she had.

"Do you think that the tuna live around in the same area as the shark and the shrimp? You obviously did no work on this!" The teacher droned on and on about something-or-other related to tuna. Kagome didn't listen. She stared blankly at the back wall, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

The class was silent. They all felt Kagome's mortification, especially since they all knew how hard she had worked. They had all bugged her when she was researching and had paid dearly for it: she had snapped at them like a rabid dog. She had yelled at them online for annoying her. She had recited her speech so many times to Sango, Sango was sure she could have memorized it.

Kagome's face flushed. How unfair could a teacher get? _Come on,_ Kagome thought. I_ mean, she spends_ ten minutes _lecturing me about tuna._

She hazarded a glance at her classmates' faces, looking for signs of sympathy. Sango gave her a pitying glance, and some other girls did too.

Inuyasha and Miroku were playing cards in the back, not paying any attention at all. But of course Mrs. Feathergrass hadn't noticed _them_.

Mrs. Feathergrass gave a long, dramatic sigh. "Very well, continue," she exhaled noisily, raising an eyebrow as she wrote something down.

Kagome reddened, her face crimson and hot with embarrassment.

"Uh...I'm done," she mumbled.

Mrs. Feathergrass nodded. "Sit."

Kagome ran to her seat and kept her head down, blinking back tears. She didn't look up.

The class clapped for her, but even she could tell that it was done half-heartedly. It was much too awkward, really.

Mrs. Feathergrass, as if thinking, _"What did I do to deserve such a student?",_ frowned. Then she smiled, showing her crooked teeth.

"Ah. Kikyou, you next."

Kikyou beamed and smiled sweetly at the teacher, causing Sango to roll her eyes. Kagome didn't care anymore. She failed the project and was too busy moping. She had no energy to make fun of Kikyou.

Kikyou began, "I am doing my project on the desert."

Mrs. Feathergrass nodded enthusiastically.

"The climate there..."

Kagome tuned out. She was basking in her own thoughts...

_ A five-year-old Kagome and her friends Sango and Kikyou were playing in the playground. Sango wanted the other two to race. Kagome smiled. She had been practicing for about a month now. She was sure she could win._

_They began running...running...Kagome was behind. She couldn't catch up._

_Kikyou had beaten her._

_Once again.  
_  
Kagome sighed. She didn't know why random flashbacks were appearing in her mind, and quite frankly, she didn't care. She just wanted them to stop.

Frustrated, she figured that the only way to stop the flow of thoughts was to listen to Kikyou.

Too bad.

"And last of all, I would like to tell you some fun facts..." Kikyou continued.

Last of all? Did Kikyou even mention the animals? Mrs. Feathergrass had said that they definitely needed to talk about the wildlife.

Kagome raised her hand.

Kikyou looked at her, sighing. "Yes, Kagome?" she asked, as if talking to a little kid.

"What kind of animals live there?" she asked.

Kikyou looked startled. "Uh...animals?"

Kagome nodded. And smiled. Kikyou would get yelled at, Kagome was sure.

Kikyou stuttered, "Um, well..."

Mrs. Feathergrass cleared her throat.

Kikyou looked terrified, while Kagome and Sango were on the verge of jumping up and down laughing.

"Some animals there include the mice, the wild eagle, the camel, and the donkey," Mrs. Feathergrass said.

Kikyou's sighed in relief. "Of course. Yeah, the mice, the eagle, the camel, and the donkey."

Kagome's jaw hung. While Mrs. Feathergrass had given her a lecture about tuna, Kikyou got her answers fed to her.

"Are you done, Kikyou?" Mrs. Feathergrass smiled.

Kikyou nodded, her eyes cool but sparkling with pride.

_Pride for her incomplete project_, Kagome thought angrily. She knew how much time Kikyou had spent on her project. She had done it the day before it was due, and had printed a webpage to read off of.

Kagome sighed. She was sick of it all. Sick of Kikyou, sick of her teacher, sick of her own loser personality.

Why couldn't _she_ be the one that the teachers favored? Why couldn't she do something right?

Just once, Kagome would like to win something.

Just once, she wanted to see Kikyou go down.


	2. Pathetic

**Second Place  
**  
Chapter 2

Inuyasha smirked. Did Kagome the geek think that she could actually get _Kikyou_ into trouble?

Obviously, this was her first year here.

Kikyou had never been in trouble. Not since kindergarten, when she had accidentally forgotten to tie her shoelaces.

Her teachers had liked her. They always had. They appreciated her gifts, her endless compliments...next to her, the other students didn't stand out as much.

Inuyasha had been trying to get her in trouble for years. He had hidden her homework sheets and tried blaming her for everything.

But nothing had ever worked.

Her teachers made sure of that.

Inuyasha stopped thinking...he was getting distracted from his card game. Besides, he didn't care for Kikyou. Not the least bit. Not really.

Miroku smiled at the girls on his right, dropping his cards onto the table. Inuyasha immediately focused again. He would not lose to a crazy pervert.

Inuyasha innocently peered over and picked Miroku's cards up, memorizing them.

Who says cheating doesn't help?

-

Kikyou smiled. An A-Plus. Yet again.

She was lucky. She was smart. She knew what had to be done.

_All you needed to do was to make a good first impression. Then, after that, you could slack all you want, while the teachers favor you and shove A's down your throat._

Some school system. How corrupt.

-

Kagome sighed. She had finished setting things up for their stupid "Entertain the little kids" fair, otherwise known as "The Children's Festival." Or something like that.

_This is what I get for volunteering_, she thought to herself.

She had tried to untie thick rope for an hour, making her fingers blister and turn a very unpleasant shade of purple and red. Then she had tried to bring bags filled with junk over to the garbage can. That junk, though, happened to be extremely heavy. And her arms happened to be extremely weak.

Lucky her.

Slumping down to the floor, Kagome frowned. All the emotion and the pain of losing that had been bottled up for so long finally exploded out. And she was already in a terrible mood.

She wanted to yell, to scream, to stomp on the floor, and slam a door until she was satisfied.

Yet she couldn't.

All she could do was to talk. Inside her head. In her mind where no one could hear. Where no one could hurt her. Where no one could reach her.

_I can't do anything. I can't untie rope. I can't carry heavy things. I can't blow up balloons. I'm pathetic._

_I'm not good at anything. I'm just average. Average grades, average height, average looks...average, average, average..._

_I can't win anything. I've been trying...trying so hard for years...yet no matter how much I try, I can't get what I want..._

_I'm worthless. So completely worthless.  
_  
-

After sitting down for about five minutes, Kagome got up and dusted her pants off.

Enough of wallowing in self-pity.

She walked back to her decorating committee, accidentally bumping into someone.

Someone who was no other than Kikyou.

_Sometimes I'm just so lucky_, Kagome thought grumpily.

Kikyou curled her lip in disgust. "Watch where you're going, okay?" she asked in a snotty voice.

Kagome's mind whirled with comebacks. She bit her lip, stopping. That girl wasn't worth it. Kagome wasn't going to lose her self-control over some snob like Kikyou.

Ignoring her, she stalked over to the other side.

However, she didn't need to worry, for, as Inuyasha sauntered over, Kikyou's tone changed completely. Her face, which before looked like someone had stuffed manure next to her nose, changed into an expression of well-rehearsed nonchalance.

Kagome was fuming. Did Kikyou really think that she could have any guy she liked just by setting her eyes on them? Um...that would be a yes.

Inuyasha however seemed to not notice.

Kagome smiled. That would serve Kikyou right.

"And now," Sango, who was the committee leader, was saying. "I'll call your name and you tell me how much you're getting done."

Kagome admired her best friend. She was good at taking charge. Kagome sure wasn't. Or maybe that's because no one listened to her.

Kikyou was whispering _loudly_ to her posse, or friends or whatever she called them, about how snobby Sango was.

"Sango is such a control freak," Kikyou was practically yelling.

"Yeah, I know," one of them nodded in agreement. They agreed with Kikyou for _everything_. Kagome was sure that Kikyou only put up with them because of that.

She rolled her eyes. What _were_ they doing? What did they have against Sango? Or maybe they were trying to impress Inuyasha?

"You know," Kagome said loudly, matching their voices. "If you're trying to annoy Sango it's not working, okay? She's not even looking at you." She stopped, surprised and impressed with herself. Normally she would've never spoken up, especially if she had something bratty to say.

Kikyou had a mock-innocent mask on. Well, it wasn't even a good one. She just looked stupid.

"Whatever." Kagome turned away, looking at Sango.

"So, Kagome, what have you gotten done?" Sango asked her after seeing her, scratching something down on her notebook.

Kagome was embarrassed. She was too busy moaning to herself about what a loser she was. _And what kind of loser talks to themselves?_

"Well, I got the rope, tied some balloons, and supervised some other groups," she said, hoping Sango didn't expect too much from her.

"Good." Sango scribbled a few phrases down.

"Oh please," Kikyou said, disgusted. (How dare someone compliment anyone but she?) "Big deal. I've done twice as much as her. I've blown up balloons--"

"Oh, for God's sake," Sango muttered. "Would you _up_?"

Kagome laughed but soon stopped when Kikyou gave her a death glare.

Kikyou noticed this too and snuck a casual glance and Inuyasha. He wasn't looking at her. In fact, he was staring at the ceiling, probably wondering why he was here.

Kagome smirked. She could imagine Kikyou sobbing to her friends in a high pitched tone, "Gasp! He thinks the ceiling is more important than _me_!"

Inuyasha could have any girl he wanted. Kikyou could have any guy _she_ wanted. Except for Inuyasha. Which was the only guy she _did_ want.

And Kagome couldn't get any guy at all.

_Why was life so unfair_? she moaned to herself.


	3. Pirates of the Caribbean

**Second Place**

Chapter 3

_Can't get any more chapters uploaded for a whole month because I'm going to Taiwan._

_And sorry this chapter is so short.  
_  
-

Kagome struggled to hold up the banner. It was still wet with green paint. Already, she found a stain on her new sweater.

Ugh.

Only to make the moment worse, Kikyou strolled by.

"Need help?" she asked sweetly.

Kagome could see that Inuyasha was nearby.

_Oh please_, she thought to herself. _Could she get more obvious_?

"No!" she growled. "I'm fine."

"Oh no you're not," Kikyou protested, tugging part of the banner.

Kagome fumed. How dare she touch that banner? The banner Inuyasha had been working on for an hour, coincidentally? And the one he personally told her to hang up?

Acting like a stubborn little kid, she pulled the other side back. Kikyou glared, doing the same thing.

They dragged each side until they heard a resounding rip.

"Uh oh."

-

Sango stared at her watch, waiting for Kagome to finish. How long could putting up a banner possibly take?

"Why is she taking so long?" she mumbled to herself.

Kikyou's friend Mayura heard it. "Because," she said snidely, "she's a loser."

Sango seethed. "I wasn't talking to you, you stupid big-mouthed freak!" She paused. _What did I just say? It sounded like what my brother would say...and he's nine years old_. Okay, she needed to learn to control her temper.

Mayura rolled her eyes. "Sango," she said in a lightly innocent tone. "Please. Is that the best you can do?" She waved her manicured hand carelessly, pretending to inspect her nails. Well, since this _was_ Mayura, she probably wasn't pretending—she probably actually _was_ examining her nails.

Sango ignored her. Inside though, she wanted to punch Mayura.

She felt even angrier when Kikyou strutted into the room, trailed by a weary Kagome, knowing she should prepare herself for bad news.

-

"Now look what you did!" Kikyou shrieked.

Kagome snarled. "Me?"

Kikyou smiled. "No."

Kagome blinked. "Um..."

Kikyou looked devious. "But that's the way it will seem to Inuyasha."

Kagome didn't have time to say anything else before she heard Kikyou's voice.

"Oh, Inuyasha!" Kikyou sing-songed, making Kagome feel like she could hurl right then and there.

Inuyasha looked at her. "What?"

"Oh, it's _terrible_! I was going to hang up your banner for Kagome because the poor thing looked so tired, and then she goes and grabs it away from me and _tears it_!" Kikyou wept in a melodramatic voice.

Kagome smirked at the blatant lie. It was so _stupid_. How could anyone fall for that?

Inuyasha glared at her and Kagome felt her smile fade ever so slowly.

_ I guess some people _do_ fall for it_, she thought, watching Inuyasha's angry stare.

-

Kagome grimaced. They were doing a play for the little kids—Pirates of the Caribbean. And Kagome was forced to be in it. Although it could have been stupider.

"Now," Sango yelled. "Shut up! All of you!"

_Is she in a crabby mood or what_? Kagome thought.

"I will now read your parts. I haven't chosen them so don't blame me; the teachers have," Sango continued. "Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha nodded.

"You will be...Jack Sparrow." Sango said.

Kagome nodded. Understandable that _he_ would get a good part.

"Now read this line," Sango ordered, handing him a script.

Inuyasha looked at it and raised an eyebrow. "This is stupid. Okay, here goes: But why is the rum gone?" he said in a dull monotonous voice.

Sango glared at him, then snatched the script from him. "Ugh, never mind. You can be Will Turner. I'll tell Mrs. Feathergrass that I've changed that. Okay?"

Inuyasha grumbled. "Fine."

Kikyou raised her hand and waved it widly. "Can I please, please, please, please be Elizabeth?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. She stared at a random ladybug, bored. Wait, the role of Elizabeth? She wanted to play that. (And not because Will Turner was Inuyasha.) Great. Now Kikyou was going to get the part, then get Inuyasha, and leave Kagome with zero. As usual.

Kagome tuned out, not sure she wanted to hear it.

"And the role of Elizabeth will be..." Sango began happily.

_Oh please_, Kagome begged silently._ Please let it be me. I just want to get something I want...for once.  
_  
Kikyou was smiling confidently. Mayura had the same expression as Kikyou did.

Sango paused. "Kikyou."


	4. Yo Ho Yo Ho, A Loser's Life For Me

**Second Place**

Chapter 4

_All chapter have been edited for better quality, however the story is still the same._

-

Kikyou grinned happily. Kagome's mind was foggy. She couldn't think. So she did the logical and bolted.

She ran out of the room, holding back tears.

Kagome leaned against the lockers, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. One tear slipped down her cheek, causing more to fall.

_God_, Kagome thought. _I just wanted the part of Elizabeth. Just one part and I can't even get that? _She stayed there for a while, thinking and then decided to grow up and suck it in._  
_

After cleaning herself up, she walked back into the room pretending nothing was wrong.

Kikyou glared at her. "Jeez, Kagome. We've been waiting for you the whole time. Hurry _up_."

Kagome ignored her.

"What?" Kikyou said, amused. "Are you afraid to talk to me?"

Kagome had enough. She had bottled up her feelings for so long and they needed to be released. They would probably explode anyway, whether she liked it or not. "No," Kagome spat bitterly. "I would tell you exactly what you are, except, whoops, I'm not allowed to swear."

Kagome spun on her heel, leaving a very shocked Kikyou behind.

-

Sango squinted at the list, making sure that she had read the name right. Yep, sure enough, Kikyou's name was written in big bold letters.

_ Kikyou?_

_Ugh._

"And Jack Sparrow," Sango continued, "is Miroku. Miroku, please come up and read a sample line."

A grinning Miroku sauntered up. "Of course I know why you chose me as Jack Sparrow. Cuz I'm such a ladies' man, right, Sango?" he said, before reaching his hand out to...you know.

Sango's eye twitched and she smacked him. Hard. In the face. "Shut up and read the line," she hissed at him.

He opened his mouth to read it but then stopped. "Do we have to practice with the slapping?"

Sango gritted her teeth. _Stupid pervert_. "Yes. But I suppose that you're well used to it by now."

"I'm only going to say the main parts. And for the rest of you, well, you can go check the list in the back," Sango continued, shoving Miroku back down the stage.

"Kouga, you're Barbossa," Sango said turning to look at another boy. He nodded. _See_? she thought to herself. _At least _some_one here is normal-ish._

Sango continued. "Sesshomaru, you're the—" Sango choked before stifling her laughter. "You're the _Commodore_." She heard him give a disgusted groan.

-

A while later, Kagome realized her name hadn't been called. Not that it was a surprise or anything. She went to go check the list.

"Anamaria?" Kagome asked herself aloud. The random pirate girl with around five lines?

She sighed.

-

"_Guys_?" Sango yelled pleadingly. "Can we please just start our first rehearsal? _Guys_!"

_Now I know why teachers are in such bad moods all the time.  
_  
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Try again."

Sango frowned. Then she roared at the top of her voice, "_Listen to me, idiots!_"

Everyone stopped to stare, wondering who was making such a fuss.

"Now that I have your _attention_," Sango huffed. "We will begin our rehearsal. We will start with scene one. Even though that is quite boring." She said the last sentence to herself. "Oh yes. Young Elizabeth and Will Turner are still Kikyou and Inuyasha."

Kikyou began with the song. Only she sang it like she was performing in an opera. She was strutting around the stage belting out the song as loud as she could. She wavered her voice so that each word become at least fifteen syllables.

**AN: Don't you hate singing like that? Where people think they're good so they waver their voice way too much?)**

Kagome smirked. All in all, she looked ridiculous.

"No!" Sango shouted. "Sing it quietly, like...er..." _A normal human being maybe_? she grumbled.

"Like a kid," Kagome whispered to her.

"Like a kid!" Sango demanded, deciding that was more tactful.

Kikyou rolled her eyes. "Control freak," she muttered to herself, but she did as she was told. It sounded...a little better.

By the end of the rehearsal, Sango was so mad she couldn't see straight. Being with Kikyou and Inuyasha could do that to you. Kikyou was trying to get the attention even in scenes she wasn't _in_. Inuyasha spoke in a dull voice all the time and it took him about seven tries to get _anything_ right, if it were right at all.

"Okay," Sango said, trying to remain calm. "Try it again." _Deep breaths...deep breaths...  
_  
Inuyasha was acting as young Will Turner, only he wasn't really acting. He was just being Inuyasha. His usual bored self.

Inuyasha sighed. Kikyou began her line. "My name's Elizabeth Swann."

"Will Turnip." Inuyasha muttered monotonously.

Everyone groaned.

"Turner!" Sango shrieked. "_Turner_!"

"Again?" Kikyou groaned. Even she was beginning to get tired of this. There were only so many times you could introduce yourself to a complete moron.

Sango nodded, feeling like she was going to burst with anger.

"My name is Elizabeth Swann," Kikyou said.

Inuyasha blinked. "Will...Will...Turn...uh...line?"

"Will _Turner_! For this _whole _scene, you have had _one _line! _One line_! Is that so hard to remember? _Will Turner_!" Sango ranted, her temper taking over and her calmness flying out the window.

Kagome watched the clock, sighing.

Then...

RING!

The first rehearsal was over.

Finally.


End file.
